Feed mechanism for saws



Oct. 26, 1943. D. H. BOSTWICK ET AL FEED MECHANISM FOR SAWS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed bee. 27, 1941 BYaf - 6W WM ATTORNEY.

1943- v D. H. BOSTWICK ETAL 2,332,888

FEED MECHANISM FOR SAWS Filed Dec. 27, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ww ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 26, 1943 V UNI STATE 11 i 3 38 I a D MECHANISM-1E0! ewe mum sn a and renew Bo e x wrhew' 2 31 Washington, v Wis., assignors ns'n Chair Company, PofrtWzis'hrngtgn} a jcprporat ion-of w isconsin Application December 27, 194 1,;Ser ialtl0. {24,516

371001 111 5. (cults- 5m The presentinvention relates generally to improducevpieoes iota .definitesize will funotioht9 provementsin-the artof-vtransporting materiaLto insure lithe .produdtion ot ais'ucoession of blocks and from a working zone, and relates'more cofvuniior m cross:sefctiona'l shape." specificallyrto various improvements in the con- :Stillanotheriobjeetiof ourpresent invention is struction and operation of mechanismsfor feedtolprovide.anaut'oinatiietzd deyice,;for rip'saws ing-blocks or slabs of wood or the-like toward tort-the like,l-,Whichj(canheimanufaotured and sold and away from a cutter such as a circular saw. .atmoderatelcostwvhidhmaybeioonvenientlyap- Anobject of the invention is to provide an :plied ito I standard saw assemblages of various improved feed mechanism for saws; which is types, :and which oanflbfe readily and ,safely simple and compact in construction, andwhich 10 manipulated ito enhance" the capacity ;of the, is-moreover highly flexibleiand eflicient in use. .sawsi t. T i t t When operating circular rip sawslin furniture -These.anchotherspecific objects andtadvantages factories or the-like, itrrequently becomes deof :the ihventionvuiill be anpar ntrf omthei oisirableto quickly and effectively sever slabs or rlowing;.detaileddescription. l" I l n at bl k ofiwood of div sizes nd, flA sclear llconoeption of the various features shapes into prismatic pieces. havinguniform which sconstitut 41 DI i t a d 10f transverse cross-section. Ithaslongbeen customthe mode of constructingfand o Operating saw my to utilize arapidly revolving circular rip :feed meohanisrnsibuiltv in' accordance with the sawcassooiated with a vertically adjustable Work improvemen m y be -b refefringiiib 13116 supporting table, for this particular purpose; and drawingsrac conipany a li'olv'nlingrrfrll p t O when such a sa was employed, th table w j thisspecificationsyvhereinilike reference charinitially set so that the saw would cutvthmiigh iactersidesignateithesamelor similar'parts in .the successive piecesof diverse thickness and the :iSBYeraLvieW-S- I :pieces of 'work were ordinarily fed by hand along Fig.1 isvat frontrperspe tive iVi W 0f ii-C u a 'a normally fixed but adjustable guide resting on 1D 584 .a sembl eerequinuedswith;our improved the table and past the sawblade. This procedure teed echanism;

besides-being relatively slow and tedious, was m2is;ai qnihandhside. perspectivevviewuof also extremely dangerous -to the operator; and the. sameassemblaee; while previous attemptsto provide a mechanical file-.13 ;is,v;awrearrperspeotive View of the saw "feed have been )made, thesehaver-not been en- H nd Qd.a. mb ;.van J tirely satisfactoryeither becausehofinvolved com- JEi -A i ..Qp.1Q .gp ansview ofhthe im proved -plication, or .becausethey would not properly uqm r r andautomatically adjust themselves to varying @Whflflfilfiflfififliiiq ha hem illustrat d and conditio s of per t oniand use. .57 hi f u lle sime heinersmoial .a a ted ror I i e eva, m spe fi objector .911 fi ln fifi iq qhudl frqQr mra ion w th ac rcupresent inventionto provide; an improved ieed 1d QQd h mechanism especially applicable to circular iP I0 worksupporting tables which are adjustafole to .a i ll u t expose moreor less of the: saw blade to the: out, 40 i bhil eb and which rnechanism is adapted to rapidlyland utility {of t t. saiely feed .or transport successive xblocks of pgs the irnprqved saw" d se r ss-seemed a e s re mee n me b1 ge wfi zone. A Another objeotof this invention is mp vide a simplemechanism for positively transporting ucessive blocks orislabs of wood or ,thelikeinast a saw, which will automatioally adjust itself so'as to accommodate work piecesofwdifierent height 'or thickness. A further object of the invention is to provide improved feed, mechanism for rip saws; whioh can be quickly and convenientlyfladjustedtoiin r sur a a c tt eiu s iv piec ha in predetermined dimensions, and whioh'when set to work supp y saws revolvable,about fixed axes and having r itigallylad ji'istabl d iar ingly connected with a speed reducing unit 23 carried by the same plate 22, by means of a belt drive 24; and a positive flexible drive connecting the supply feed wheel driving-shaft 13 with the speed reducing unit 23, this driving connection consisting of a universal joint 25 and telescopic inner and outer shaft members 2%, 2i respectively, drivingly associated with the universal joint and with the shaft 13. v

The circular rip saw blade 5 is adapted to be rotated at'highspeed and in the direction indicated by the arrowl'in Fig.1, by means of a belt drive 28, and thissaw projects upwardly through a slot-29 in the table 1 into,v the cutting zone. The table! is vertically adjustable so as to expose more or less of the blade 6 to the work, by means of relatively standard adjusting mechanism 30,

y and the elongated work guide 8 may be moved over the table top and along the'guide-rods 9, ll!

and locked into any desired position-of adjustment with the aid of a locking lever 3i and cam coacting with the rod 9, and clamping means 32 coasting with the rod Ill. The main frame'l'l, saw blade 6, table l,. guide 8, and the adjusting mechanisms for these elements, are all of old and wheels ll, l2 toward and away from the table 1.

While the electric motor 2i, speed reducer 23, and belt drive 24 are of standard construction, the positive universally movable driving connection which is interposed between the feed wheel shaft l3 and the reducer 23, must be formed to permit freefioating or vertical movement of the supply feed wheel 1 I. This motion transmitting connection is therefore provided with a universal joint 25 disposed between the telescopic inner member 28 and the speed reducer 23, and the inner telescopic member 26. is slidable longitudinally within the outer tubular member 2'! but is drivingly connected thereto by means of a spline 38, see'Fig; 4;, The telescopic shaft member 21 may be rigidly attached to the hub 39 of the sprocket IS, and'this hub may be drivingly connected directly to the feed wheel shaft 33 in any well known construction, and may vary slightly in 7 design and construction. I v

The peripherally toothed feed wheels H, l2 are disposed in a common plane parallel to that of the saw blade 6 and located betweenlthe saw blade and the work guide iband these feedwheels are rotatable in the direction indicat'edbythe arrows in Fig. l. The supply feed wheel H is disposed on the inlet side of the saw blade 6,

while the dischargefeed wheel I2 is on the dc 1 livery side of the cutting zone, and the two floating feed wheels I l, H. are independently movable along their respective guideways ll toward and away from the upper work supporting surface of the table I. constantly and resiliently urged toward the table by means of the compression springs i6 which are disposed between the parallel uprights of the guideway I? and coact' with the bearing blocks l 5,and the tension of each of these springs 15 is independently adjustable by means of a threaded rod 33 coacting with a tubular support 34 mounted'upon the adjacent guideways. The guideways ll may either be formed integral with or adjustably'secur ed to the guide 8, and an elongated guard plate 35 may be secured to the tubular supports 34 over thefeedwheels ll; I2; For additional safety, another and wider guard plate 35 may be provided beneath the guard "plate35 Both feed wheels ll, l2 are however suitable manner which will permit slight rocking motion between these elements, so that the vertical floating motion of'the-supply feed wheel ll will not be interfered with. This up and down movement of the feed wheels ll, I2 is not very pronounced'since the successive pieces of work are ordinarily approximately the same height or thickness, but may vary fractions of an inch. The telescopic connection afforded by the shaft members 28, 2'! is provided primarily for the purpose of permitting the work guide 8 to be moved toward and away from the saw blade 6, without interrupting the driving connection between the speed reducer 23 and the feed wheels .l I, l2; and theuniversal joint 25 is the primary element whichpermits free floating movement of the supply feed Wheel ll, while the flexible driving chain Ell permits free floating motion of the other feed wheel l2 independently of the wheel H. The improved feed mechanism and the driving mechanism therefore, may be applied to various types of saw assemblages without impairing the efficiency thereof.

' During normal operation of the improved saw and automatic feed assembly, it is ordinarily de- 'sirable to cut a large number of elongated pieces or wood blocks to the same cross sectional di- "mensions, and these pieces of WOlk must be fed past the saw in rapid succession. The course of the work pieces or blocks is indicated by the arrow ill, in Fig. 1, and in order to cut the pieces to the correct dimensions, it is first necessary to set the elongated guide .8 the desired distance fromlthe sawbla'de 6, and this may be accompli'shed by releasing-the lever 3i and the mechanism 32 during the adjusting operation. The telescopic connection afforded by the shaft members 26,2? will permit the guide S'to be adjusted toward or away from the saw blade 3 and along the guide rods 9, ill, to any desired position, after which the locking lever 3i and the lockingmechanism 32 may be 'mahi'qpulated so as to positively lock the guide 8 in the adjusted position;

After such adjustment'ha's been made and the table 1 has been raised or lowered a distancesufficientto permit the saw blade 6 toproperly cooperate with thework, the successive'jelongated work" pieces maybe fed by hand toward the supply feed wheel"! I and along the guide 8. As soon as the feed wheel H encounters a piece of'work, it is no longer necessary to urge the same toward the zone of cutting, since the supply feed wheel will then advance, the piece of work longitudinally past the saw blade 6.1 When the piece of Work sion.

essence "advances the cut piece along the guide 8 and away fromithe table I; The operator ma-l "thus feed successive pieces of wcrk in rapid succession and in end conta'ctuwith each other along the guide 8, and when the successive pieces have once engaged the supply feed wheel I'Lthey are "auto; 'matically and positively fed past the saw blade-6 and away from the cutting zone, without neces 'sitating further handling thereof. By virtue of the floating suspension of the feed Wheels H, t2, these feed wheels "will automatically assume "a position corresponding to the height of each piece of work measured vertically from the table 1, and the feed wheels will effectively perform their function regardless of variations in height r of the successive work pieces. Due to the independent floating actioniof the two feed wheels'l l,

, i2, either oi. thesetfeed wheels may assume a pieces of work past a saw, inasmost expeditious manner. The upper guard 350i the-improved assemblage prevents possible damageor injury by virtue of accidental contact with the feed Wheels ii, iii and theflower guard 36 eiiectively protects the operator against possible injury due to contact with the rapidly revolving saw blade 6. The improved driving connection between the speed reducer 23 and the sprocket i8, not only permits the guide 8 to be set at any desired position, but also co-operates with the motion transmitting chain so as to permit the feed wheels H, IE to assume various vertical positions independently of each other. The compression springs it constantly urge the feed wheels ll, 12 toward the upper surface of the table I, and thereby insure proper ccaction between the feed wheels and the work regardless of the height of the work pieces. The entire feed assemblage may be readily applied as a unit to various types of saws, at relatively moderate cost, and the im proved feed mechanism has proven highly satisfactory in actual use especially for the purpose of cutting pieces of similar size in rapid succes- It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this invention to the exact details of construction or to the precise mode of use, herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. In combination, a saw, a work supporting table for said saw, an elongated guide carried by said table and being adjustable toward and wheel relative to said :table, a fixed moto'r ior driving said :ieed wheels carried :by sai table, and a single telescopic cfonnection for positively transmitting rotary motion from i said :motor' to one of said feed wheels and for permitting bodily movement of said wheels toward and :away from said saw. i 1

:2. In combination, a saw, a work supporting table for said saw, a "work positioningiguide carried by saidtableand beingwadjustable toward and away from :the plane of LCllttlng of said saw, work engaging supply and "discharge feed wheels suspended from said guide iforwardly :and rearwardly of the cutting zone; :said Lfeed wheels being independently'smovable toward and away 'from'said table and being simultaneously fadjustable with said guide toward and away from said plane of cutting, is, stationary m'otor carried by said table, and a positiveidrive iibetween said motor and one of said" feed wheels for permitting movementof said wheels toward and away from said table and saidplane. I

3. In combination, a saw; a work supporting tableifor said saw, :a workpositioning guide car'- ried by said table and being adjustable toward and away irom-Ithe plane of cutting oi said-isaw,

work engaging supply and discharge feed wheels suspended from said guide forwardly-and rear wardly of the cutting zone, said feedwheels being independently movable toward and away from said table andbeing simultaneously movable with said guidetoward and away from said plane of cutting, a motor fixedly mounted on saidtable;

and a positive driving connect'ion between said motor and the supply =feed wheel formed to :per-

mit movement of said wheel toward and away from both said table and said plane.

4. In combination, a saw, a work supporting table for said saw, a work positioning guide carried by said table and being adjustable toward independently movable toward and away from said table and being simultaneously adjustable with said guide toward and away from said plane of cutting, a fiexiblepositive motion transmitting chain interposed between said wheels, and stationary means carried by said table for imparting motion to said wheels.

5. In combination, a saw, a work supporting table for said saw, a work positioning guide car ried by said table and being adjustable toward and away from the plane of cutting of said saw,

work engaging supply and discharge feed wheels suspended from said guide forwardly and rearwardly of the cutting zone, said guides being independently movable toward and away from i i said table and being simultaneously movable with said guide toward and away from said (plane of cutting, a flexible positive chain drive for transmitting rotary motion from said supply to said discharge feed wheels, amotor fixedly mounted on said table, and a positive driving connection between said motor and the supply feed wheel formed to permit movement of said wheel toward and away from both said table and said plane.

6. In combination, a saw, a work supporting table for said saw, an elongated work positioning guide disposed parallel to the plane of cutting of said saw, work engaging supply and discharge feed wheels rotatably suspended from said guide and being independently movable toward and away from said table; means for effecting simul taneous lateral adjustment of said guide and said feed wheels toward and away from said plane of cutting, .and a telescopic driving connection for one of said feed wheels. 1

7. In combination, a saw, a work supporting table for said saw, an elongated work position! ing guide disposed parallel to the plane of cutting of saidsaw, Work engaging supply and discharge feed Wheels rotatably suspended from said guide forwardly and rearwardly of the cut ting zone and being, independently movable toward and away from said table, means for effecting simultaneous lateral adjustment of said guide and said feedwheels toward and away from said plane of cutting, a flexible positive motion transmitting drive connecting said feed wheels, and a telescopic driving connection. for one of said feed wheels.

8. In combination, a saw, a work supporting table for said saw, an elongated work positioning guide disposed on said table parallel to the plane of cutting of said saw and havingparallel up right guideways thereon, a work engagingfeed wheel journalled in each of said guideways and being movable along its guideway toward and away from said table, means for efiecting adjustment of said guide toward and away from said plane of cutting to simultaneously laterally .ad-

just said feed wheels like distances, and a telescopic driving connection for one of said feed wheels'formed to compensate for said adjustment.

9. In combination, a saw, a work supporting table for said saw, an elongated work positioning guide disposed on said table parallel to the plane of cutting of said saw'and having parallel upright guideways thereon, a work engaging feed wheelojournalled in each of said guideways and being movable along itsv guideway toward and away from said table, means for effecting adjustment of said guide toward and away from said plane of cutting to simultaneously laterally adjust said feed wheels like distances, a positive chain .drive connecting said feed wheels While permitting independent movement thereof along said guideways, and a telescopic driving connection for one of said feed wheels formed to compensate for said adjustment.

10. In combination, a circular saw, a work supporting table having a slot through which said saw projects, an elongated work positioning guide disposed on said table parallel to the plane of cutting of said saw, parallel upright guideways formed integral with said guide forwardly and rearwardly of the cutting zone, a work engaging feed wheel journalled in each of said guideways and being movable therealong toward and away from said table, resilient means for constantly urging each of said'feed wheels along its guideway toward said table, means for positively transmitting rotary motion from one of said feed wheels to the other While permitting independent movement thereof along said guideways, means for efiecting adjustment of said guide toward and away from said plane of cutting to simultaneously laterally adjust said feed wheels'like distances, and a driving connection for one of said feed wheels formed to compensate for said adjustment.

' D. H. BOSTWICK.

THEO. BODE. 

